What the Papers Say, Apr. 18, 2014

Kommersant

1. Pavel Tarasenko article headlined "Ukrainian crisis sees way out" says that the foreign ministers of Russia, the U.S., the EU and Ukraine have reached a deal on the measures aimed at easing tension in Ukraine; pp 1, 7 (738 words).

2. Yulia Gallyamova et al. report headlined "Murmansk to give its money to Crimea" says that the government is discussing the possibility of curtailing the state financing of the Murmansk transport hub by 75 percent and relocating the funds for the development of Crimean ports; pp 1, 11 (662 words).

3. Alexander Voronov et al. report headlined "People of non-entry age" says that the Ukrainian authorities have informed Russia's largest airline Aeroflot that from now on they will deny entry to the country to all male Russian citizens aged 16 to 60; pp 1, 3 (859 words).

4. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Vladimir Putin sticks to stubborn line" gives an ironic account of President Vladimir Putin's annual phone-in; pp 1, 3 (2,370 words).

5. Sofya Samokhina et al. article headlined "Moscow authorities advocating new reform of Federation Council" says that the Moscow Mayor's office is pushing for reform of the formation of the Federation Council; p 2 (805 words).

6. Sergei Goryashko article headlined "Vladimir Putin speeds up Crimean election" says that Putin has tabled a bill to the State Duma to set the date for parliamentary elections in Crimea and Sevastopol for Sept. 14 ; p 2 (620 words).

7. Sergei Strokan article headlined "U.S. returning to Asia" looks ahead at U.S. President Barack Obama's trip to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Philippines aiming to show his readiness to restrain China's growing influence; p 7 (466 words).

8. Ilya Barabanov article headlined "Viktor Yanukovych remains president in office" features correspondent's report from Viktor Yanukovych's hometown Yenakiieve where people are actively discussing the reports on his return to Ukraine on Apr. 20 ; p 7 (532 words).

9. Yury Barsukov article headlined "Russia, EU exchange letters" says that the EU has agreed to hold gas talks with Russia, but only on the level of the European Commission and with Ukraine's participation. The EU is hardly ready for serious talks and hopes to shift the solution of all the problems on Gazprom like it did in 2009, experts comment; p 11 (694 words).

10. Sergei Sobolev article headlined "STS relates to Gazprom-media" says the STS Media group of companies have started cooperating not only with Russia's largest advertising sales house Video International, but also with Gazprom-Media holding company; p 13 (600 words).

11. Ksenia Dementyeva article titled "Bankers called to information war" reports on the recent information attacks on Russian banks launched by Ukraine. The authorities have previously accused branches of Russian banks operating in Ukraine of financing separatists; p 10 (400 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Ivan Rodin article headlined "State Duma mopping up Internet" says that today the State Duma is to consider in the second reading new anti-terrorist amendments envisaging registration of the most popular bloggers who will be regarded as mass media outlets with all ensuing duties and responsibilities; pp 1-2 (689 words).

2. Oleg Vladykin article headlined "Kiev dreads insiders and outsiders" says that the Ukrainian authorities have banned Russian males aged 16 to 60 from entering Ukraine. Moreover, the servicemen who laid down arms to protesters in Slovyansk will face a military tribunal, Kiev warned; pp 1-2 (574 words).

3. Petr Tverdov and Alexandra Samarina article headlined "No iron curtain" comments on Putin's televised phone-in where he presented his stance on Crimea, Ukraine, NATO and freedom of speech in Russia; pp 1, 3 (2,974 words).

4. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "Chisinau getting ready to parry Tiraspol's blow" says that the Moldovan Defense Minister has demanded that the army be increased twofold after the Dnestr region's Supreme Council asked Putin for recognition and merger with Russia; pp 1, 7 (978 words).

5. Yevgenia Novikova article headlined "Palestine puts forward three conditions for Israel" says that the U.S.-mediated talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are unlikely to result in an efficient agreement as the sides are offering mutually unacceptable conditions; pp 1, 8 (654 words).

6. Yury Paniyev article headlined "Ukrainian crisis for four" says that the West has drafted a new set of sanctions against Russia ahead of the U.S., the EU, Russia and Ukraine talks in Geneva on a foreign ministers' level; pp 1, 8 (754 words).

7. Editorial headlined "About ethnic Russians and political Russians" says that the word 'Russians' is becoming a key notion in Russian political discourse and looks at possible dangers of the trend; p 2 (482 words).

8. Sergei Safronov article headlined "WTO enlightening" says that journalists from Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine have taken part in a seminar organized by the WTO; p 5 (793 words).

9. Sergei Kiselyov article headlined "Offshore outflow" says that the authorities have stepped up efforts in de-offshorization of profits from oil exports as it is becoming a crucial factor for stability of the domestic market; p 6 (547 words).

10. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Yanukovych may return in new capacity" says that ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych may return to Ukraine for Easter, Apr. 20 ; p 7 (1,584 words).

Vedomosti

1. Milana Chelpanova and Maxim Tovkaylo article headlined "Government ready to divide NSTP" says that the government has agreed to divide the Novorossiysk Sea Trade Port between Transneft and the Summa group of companies; pp 1, 12 (600 words).

2. Editorial headlined "Prison reflex" says that a surge of patriotism that followed Crimea's merger with Russia is combined with a trend of seeking enemies inside the country among those who do not share the enthusiasm over Crimea or oppose the authorities' stance in any other way; pp 1, 6 (400 words).

3. Lilia Biryukova article headlined "Direct Crimean [line]" says that half of the almost four-hour-long president's annual phone-in has been dedicated to Crimea; p 2 (750 words).

4. Alexei Nikolsky et al. report headlined "Ukraine closes border" says that the Foreign Ministry has warned of retaliatory measures in response to the Ukrainian ban on male Russian citizens aged 16 to 60 to enter the country; p 3 (400 words).

5. Polina Khimshiashvili article headlined "Figure it out for four" says that Russia, Ukraine, the U.S. and the EU have approved a road map to settle the Ukrainian crisis; p 3 (400 words).

6. Margarita Lyutova article headlined "Devaluation with profit" says that the weakening of the ruble has triggered consumption, which in its turn speeded up economic growth; p 4 (600 words).

7. Yekaterina Kravchenko article headlined "New sanctions" says that the European Parliament has voted for toughening sanctions against Russia; p 5 (400 words).

8. Irina Mokrousova and Milana Chelpanova article headlined "Not trader anymore" says that Russian tycoon Gennady Timchenko, who has made a fortune by trading in natural resources, has withdrawn from this kind of business; p 12 (500 words).

9. Yelena Khodyakova article headlined "Vladimir Putin promises pre-payment" says that during his phone-in, Putin gave Ukraine a one-month deadline to pay its gas bill or be switched to a pre-payment plan; p 12 (400 words).

10. Darya Trosnikova article headlined "They threaten Sberbank over terrorism" says that Ukrainian prosecutors have accused 14 banks, including Russia's Sberbank, of financing pro-Russian separatists; p 15 (300 words).

11. Anastasia Golitsyna and Alexei Nikolsky article headlined "Not in contact with FSB" says that the founder of the social networking website VKontakte, Pavel Durov, has stated that he had to sell his shares in VKontakte due to law enforcers' pressure; p 24 (650 words).

12. Anastasia Kornya article headlined "Second arrest considered excessive" says that a Moscow court has refused to place opposition leader Alexei Navalny under second house arrest over libel ; p 3 (300 words).

13. Yekaterina Shulman op-ed headlined "War for sake of law" comments on the Constitutional Court's decision saying that the term "foreign agent" used in the law requiring NGOs to register as foreign agents, has no negative connotations; p 6 (900 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Yury Politov article headlined "Do not be afraid of anything" features highlights from Putin's phone-in session; pp 1-2 (2,900 words).

2. Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "Quartet out of tune" looks at the results of the four-party talks on the situation in Ukraine held in Geneva where a 'road map' was approved; pp 1, 8 (1,000 words).

3. Vitaly Petrov article headlined "Speeding up integration" says that State Duma chairman Sergei Naryshkin has stated at the Eurasian Economic Prospect international forum that the EU sanctions would only speed up Russia's integration with Asia-Pacific countries; p 3 (400 words).

4. Ivan Yegorov article headlined "Put on ration" says that 15 Ukrainian airborne infantry fighting vehicles heading to Kramatorsk have turned around and left after talking with locals. The Kiev authorities threatened them with the military tribunal; p 7 (900 words).

5. Petr Likhomanov article headlined "Either storm or provocation" looks at an attack on a military unit in Mariupol which the Kiev authorities hurried to label as an attack of separatists; p 8 (450 words).

6. Vyacheslav Prokofyev article headlined "Paris does not want to be responsible" says that the Franco-Russian Dialogue Association has called on the EU to refrain from applying sanctions against Russia; p 8 (400 words).

Izvestia

1. Yegor Sozayev-Guryev article headlined "'There is nothing to be afraid of'" gives account of Putin's phone-in session; pp 1-2 (1,544 words).

2. Boris Mezhuyev article headlined "Russian world coming to Europe" looks at how Putin's outlook on geopolitical realities of Europe has been reflected in his phone-in session; pp 1-2 (839 words).

3. Petr Kozlov article headlined "Russia, U.S., EU come to terms on Ukraine" looks at the results of the four-party talks on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis held in Geneva; p 10 (568 words).

4. Petr Kozlov article headlined "Strategic visit to Vietnam" says that Russia keeps strengthening ties with its eastern partners amid aggravating relations with the West; p 10 (678 words).

5. Maxim Sokolov article headlined "Crisis line" comments on the peculiarities of President Putin's phone-in session; p 12 (534 words).

6. Alexandra Bayazitova and Yelizaveta Mayatnaya article headlined "Border built by fly-by-night companies" looks into the case of the former head of the Federal Border Development Agency Dmitry Bezdelov, who has been put on a federal wanted list on suspicion of embezzling almost 1 billion rubles allocated to build a border-crossing point on the border with Abkhazia, a territory disputed between Russia and Georgia; pp 1, 6 (1,600 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Mikhail Rostovsky article headlined "Country at Putin's reception" analyzes Putin's phone-in session and the impression he has made; pp 1-2 (1,017 words).

2. Igor Karmazin and Yekaterina Petukhova article headlined "What is first: Referendum or election in Ukraine?" features experts' comments on possible solutions to the Ukrainian crisis; p 2 (448 words).

3. Ignat Kalinin article headlined "Battlefield: Arctic" looks at the Defense Ministry's strategic plans in the Arctic; p 7 (625 words).

4. Mikhail Zubov interview with Lev Gudkov, the director of the Russian pollster Levada Center, explaining the roots of high levels of patriotism in Russia; p 2 (200 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta (weekly)

1. Unattributed article headlined "Crimea. Russia. World" provides a brief summary of Putin's phone-in; pp 2-5 (4,200 words).

2. Unattributed interview with Talia Khabriyeva, director of the government institute of legislation and comparative law studies, explaining how the Venice Commission, which is an advisory board of the Council of Europe on constitutional law, has adopted its decision on the Crimean referendum; p 8 (800 words).

3. Georgy Porozhnyak article headlined "Spring in Donbass" reports on the information war in southeastern Ukraine; pp 10-11 (1,300 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Valery Shiryaev report "Professional lovers of motherland" says that the Pro-Kremlin website Politonline" has published the first in history rating of "national traitors". The newspaper Novaya Gazeta is rated third; p 2 (1,300 words).

2. Valery Shiryaev report "'Polite people' in Crimea: How it happened" looks at Russia's "Crimean operation"; pp 6-7 (2,700 words).

RBK Daily

1. Anna Levinskaya et al. report "Not fighter after 60" says that Ukraine has restricted entry to the country for male Russian citizens aged from 16 to 60; pp 1, 3 (700 words).

2. Mikhail Rubin et al. report "Putin's doctrine" looks at Putin's phone-in and says that he has explained his policy towards Ukraine, the U.S. and Europe; p 3 (700 words).

3. Alexander Artemyev report "We will disarm and then we shall see" says that the talks in Geneva between the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, the U.S. and the EU on the situation in Ukraine have ended in sudden success; p 3 (550 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Diana Yevdokimova report "Schoolchildren and students to be kept under Internet surveillance" says that according to the government draft resolution on "anti-terrorist protection" of educational organizations, surveillance over Internet activities of pupils, students and employees of educational organizations will be introduced in Russia; p 3 (200 words).

2. Diana Yevdokimova report "Pavel Durov exposes security agencies" says that Pavel Durov, the founder of the social network VKontakte, has said in the Internet that he has refused to provide the Federal Security Service with personal information about people involved in Euromaidan protests ; p 3 (200 words).

3. Yana Stadilnaya report "Fire to be repelled" looks at the four-party meeting in Geneva on Ukraine and says that the Ukrainian authorities have said they are ready for a compromise, but on their terms; p 12 (600 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Newspaper publishes excerpts from Putin's phone-in conducted on Apr. 17 ; pp 1-6.

2. Yelena Chinkova report "Putin will not have residence in Crimea, so far" says that Putin has talked to journalists after his annual phone-in and said that it is possible to look for a way out of the situation with the television channel Dozhd; p 6 (300 words).

3. Alexander Kots report "Blood spilled in Mariupol" looks at the situation in eastern Ukraine; p 7 (600 words).

4. Andrei Vasin report "Is U.S. destroyer going mad?" comments on the Pentagon's information that a Su-24 fighter has made several low-altitude, high-speed passes near the Donald Cook in the Black Sea; p 8 (600 words).

Trud

1. Vasily Koltashev report "It is not for nothing that Yatsenyuk calls himself person who commits suicide" comments on the economic situation in Ukraine; p 2 (800 words).

Tvoi Den

1. Anton Stepanov report dedicated to Putin's phone-in; pp 1-3 (1,000 words).

2. Anton Stepanov report "Massacre in Mariupol" says that militants from the Right Sector have opened fire on unarmed people in Ukraine's Mariupol; pp 4-5 (300 words).

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